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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26188507">Valuation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka'>yeaka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode Related, F/M, Vignette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:49:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26188507</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Barbie has her telethon date.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ken Carson/Barbie Roberts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Valuation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I don’t own Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Barbie arrives early, because Barbie’s never late—she stands precisely in the very center of Malibu mall, wearing the sparkling pink dress Closet picked out for just such an occasion. He referred her to matching knee-high boots and complimentary silver earrings, a necklace with a heart at the center and a glitter-covered clutch: all and all, she looks her best. She always does. Barbie’s never put anything less than a hundred percent of her effort into anything, much less a special date.</p><p>Something feels distinctly <i>wrong</i> about this one, and she knows exactly what it is. Usually, it doesn’t matter what she wears for a date, because even if Closet doesn’t approve, <i>Ken</i> will. Ken loves her in everything, would love her in anything, even plaid with stripes. Ken loves her as much as her own family, more than any other man ever could, more than Skipper loves her phone and more than Ryan loves himself. And of course Barbie loves him back, but she’s still standing in the mall alone, waiting for an entirely different person to arrive. </p><p>Barbie doesn’t know anything about them except for one vital fact: whoever it is cares about important issues like pet literacy even more than she does. So at least they can’t be <i>bad</i>. Barbie knows it’s all for a good cause. When she agreed to host the pet literacy telethon, she never thought one of the things auctioned off would be <i>a date with her</i>, but it came out, and now it’s happening. She knows Ken understands. He was manning the phone lines while she hosted, backing her up every way. He has to know this date doesn’t mean anything. It’s just going to be a short, chaste thing—a trip to the lemonade stand and maybe a cheesy movie—not a long walk on the beach or a <i>romantic</i> movie or a trip to the moon, like she would share with him. She sucks in a breath and steels her plastic over, ready to do her duty. It won’t feel good, but if the resulting donation helps teach even one uneducated dog to read, it’ll be worth it. </p><p>“Barbie?”</p><p>She turns around at the familiar voice, smile plastered on as big as ever. She’s ready to shoo Ken away, because as much as she appreciates him checking on her, she’s a big girl and perfectly capable of handling this herself. Except he shoves a stunning bouquet of ruby-red roses into her hands before she can say a word. </p><p>“Surprise!”</p><p>Barbie resists the urge to smell the sticker-scented flowers. “Ken, what’re you doing here? You know I have my date with the anonymous bidder from the telethon...”</p><p>“Yup, and you were worth every penny.”</p><p>His genuine smile is far larger than her fake one, and after a few seconds, the meaning sinks in. “Ken... you? <i>You</i> bid on a date with me?”</p><p>“Yup! Had to sell my Schlond Poofa collection to afford it, but it was worth it, baby! Have I mentioned you look beautiful, by the way? Because you look beautiful. Like always.” He even winks. She has stars in her eyes. She knows how much he loves his Schlond Poofas. But because of him, Taffy might finally learn to read.</p><p>Overwhelmed, Barbie quivers, then leans in to peck his cheek and throw her arms around him, melting into full articulation for the joy of holding him. Ken hugs her back, warmer than Blissa after sunbathing, and he murmurs happily in her ear, “Ready to have the best date of your life?”</p><p>With a delighted giggle, Barbie promises, “I already am!”</p>
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